What am I going to do with you? Frederick let a silent sigh and looked over at the young woman who had been his son, his lovely baby boy whom he had raised on his own for the past fifteen years. Clive, now Stacy had come out two weeks ago during a meeting between Frederick and some important Kulza family enforcers. Why couldn’t ‘Stacy’ just tow the line? Why couldn’t she be content the way she was? Why couldn’t she just be his son? He shook his head. If the world were any other way this wouldn’t even be a problem.
Frederick watched her reflection in the single massive window that made up the east wall of the high rise apartment. She ate breakfast slowly, staring downwards out at the city below. The skyline of Brookhaven wasn’t much to look at, here and there stood massive skyscrapers that dwarfed the buildings around them and everywhere else crowded the brick and mortar constructions that held together the rest of the city. On the east end of the city, the glass pillars grew like dandelions in sidewalk cracks. In the west, two lone buildings stood sentry like over the old town. Frederick took another sip of his coffee and looked over his shoulder at the highrise behind them. The Apex Casino was ostentatious in its wealth, even compared to the immaculate opulence that Frederick had surrounded his family with. The Apex was just another reminder of who really owned the city, of who wrote the checks that kept the wheels turning and the lights on. But moreover, the gilded form of the casino cast a long shadow that kept Frederick’s apartment in darkness until noon on most days, longer in the winter.
The Kulza wanted to meet with him again, today. Their messenger had called it urgent. At the time he had laughed, The Kulza didn’t do ‘urgent’. At the time, he didn’t realize how much they were watching him. At the time, he didn’t have a trans daughter to hide from them. In all of his dealings they had made one rule deadly clear - men would be men and women would be women. It didn’t seem like such a hard rule to follow when they mentioned it. But that was before life made things complicated, and Frederick hated complicated.
He stood up, placed his tablet face down on the arm of his chair and walked down the glass staircase into the den, Stacy was drawing on her tablet. Frederick riveted a business grade smile onto his face and placed his hand on her shoulder. She froze but wouldn’t look at him. She hadn’t said a word to him since two nights ago.
“Stacy. Honey.” He started, sugar dripping off the steel in his words. “I’m going to work now. If you go outside, please go out there as Clyde.”
She remained like a statue, eyes cloudy, staring through the touchpad. He tightened his grip on her shoulder and lowered himself eye to eye with his daughter.
“I love you. But the people I work with will not understand. And when they don’t understand something…”
He let go of her shoulder, guilt dropping the bottom of his stomach out as he saw the white marks his hand had left. He turned away and scowled, disgusted at himself. Frederick took his phone out and routed another hundred dollars into Stacy’s allowance account. As he stepped into the elevator, he could only hope that someday they could find some common ground again, that things would go back to the way they were before. The drive started off mostly uneventful, he stopped for a few minutes to purchase something sweet for Stacy from the Blue Komet Grocery store, as a weak apology. Whatever little gesture he could make to try and mend their relationship, he’d try. When he passed the dry cleaners he started noticing things that set his teeth on edge.
The faded blue of police uniforms, black vests and fluorescent white lettering caught his eye first. Then the distant wailing of sirens. Frederick wiped his palms on the leather seat and adjusted his collar, he pulled his attache case onto his lap. He always hated going through the checkpoints. Ten years ago the Brookhaven Police Department wouldn’t have dared to clog midtown traffic with guard towers and quick rising bollards. Ten years ago they wouldn’t have dared to stop him at all. With all the money he contributed to city works projects, all the time he’d spent lobbying the mayor… It all went up in smoke after the first highly publicised death linked back to the Kulza. He could feel his throat drying with the thought, and he swallowed reflexively. Again, he glanced down at the attache case. All that just to get this through.
Frederick’s heart skipped a beat when the officer outside rapped on the glass. He scrambled for a moment, grateful that the tinted glass hid the panic he was feeling as he smoothed the creases of his suit and rolled down the window.
“Good Morning Officer!” Frederick smiled up at him, seeing his own face reflected in the Policeman’s sunglasses he adjusted his grin into a close-lipped smile. “Can I help you?”
A pause.
As the police officer adjusted his glasses Frederick’s blood ran cold. He knew those eyes. He knew that face. Frederick snatched for the door lock as Rico Cardoso, Kulza family soldier raised a silenced pistol and fired. It felt like nothing, Frederick’s world went impossibly quiet. As he looked down at his own body he felt himself all over, but nothing had changed. He had seen the gun fire, he had felt the heat of the muzzle, but there was no bullet hole. Not in him, and not in the window. He took a breath to speak but no sound came out.
Rico calmly opened the passenger door and roughly pulled Frederick out. The made-man gestured to the suitcase on the floor beside the corpse and Frederick, still bewildered found himself able to retrieve it with no trouble whatsoever. The hitman placed his arm around his shoulder and steered him, forcefully past a crowd of police officers who looked right through both of them.
Frederick looked at his own hands and then down at the suitcase, which seemed to be glowing with a baleful blue light. Today had just gotten a lot more complicated, and Frederick hated complicated.
Frederick watched her reflection in the single massive window that made up the east wall of the high rise apartment. She ate breakfast slowly, staring downwards out at the city below. The skyline of Brookhaven wasn’t much to look at, here and there stood massive skyscrapers that dwarfed the buildings around them and everywhere else crowded the brick and mortar constructions that held together the rest of the city. On the east end of the city, the glass pillars grew like dandelions in sidewalk cracks. In the west, two lone buildings stood sentry like over the old town. Frederick took another sip of his coffee and looked over his shoulder at the highrise behind them. The Apex Casino was ostentatious in its wealth, even compared to the immaculate opulence that Frederick had surrounded his family with. The Apex was just another reminder of who really owned the city, of who wrote the checks that kept the wheels turning and the lights on. But moreover, the gilded form of the casino cast a long shadow that kept Frederick’s apartment in darkness until noon on most days, longer in the winter.
The Kulza wanted to meet with him again, today. Their messenger had called it urgent. At the time he had laughed, The Kulza didn’t do ‘urgent’. At the time, he didn’t realize how much they were watching him. At the time, he didn’t have a trans daughter to hide from them. In all of his dealings they had made one rule deadly clear - men would be men and women would be women. It didn’t seem like such a hard rule to follow when they mentioned it. But that was before life made things complicated, and Frederick hated complicated.
He stood up, placed his tablet face down on the arm of his chair and walked down the glass staircase into the den, Stacy was drawing on her tablet. Frederick riveted a business grade smile onto his face and placed his hand on her shoulder. She froze but wouldn’t look at him. She hadn’t said a word to him since two nights ago.
“Stacy. Honey.” He started, sugar dripping off the steel in his words. “I’m going to work now. If you go outside, please go out there as Clyde.”
She remained like a statue, eyes cloudy, staring through the touchpad. He tightened his grip on her shoulder and lowered himself eye to eye with his daughter.
“I love you. But the people I work with will not understand. And when they don’t understand something…”
He let go of her shoulder, guilt dropping the bottom of his stomach out as he saw the white marks his hand had left. He turned away and scowled, disgusted at himself. Frederick took his phone out and routed another hundred dollars into Stacy’s allowance account. As he stepped into the elevator, he could only hope that someday they could find some common ground again, that things would go back to the way they were before.
The drive started off mostly uneventful, he stopped for a few minutes to purchase something sweet for Stacy from the Blue Komet Grocery store, as a weak apology. Whatever little gesture he could make to try and mend their relationship, he’d try. When he passed the dry cleaners he started noticing things that set his teeth on edge.
The faded blue of police uniforms, black vests and fluorescent white lettering caught his eye first. Then the distant wailing of sirens. Frederick wiped his palms on the leather seat and adjusted his collar, he pulled his attache case onto his lap. He always hated going through the checkpoints. Ten years ago the Brookhaven Police Department wouldn’t have dared to clog midtown traffic with guard towers and quick rising bollards. Ten years ago they wouldn’t have dared to stop him at all. With all the money he contributed to city works projects, all the time he’d spent lobbying the mayor… It all went up in smoke after the first highly publicised death linked back to the Kulza. He could feel his throat drying with the thought, and he swallowed reflexively. Again, he glanced down at the attache case. All that just to get this through.
Frederick’s heart skipped a beat when the officer outside rapped on the glass. He scrambled for a moment, grateful that the tinted glass hid the panic he was feeling as he smoothed the creases of his suit and rolled down the window.
“Good Morning Officer!” Frederick smiled up at him, seeing his own face reflected in the Policeman’s sunglasses he adjusted his grin into a close-lipped smile. “Can I help you?”
A pause.
As the police officer adjusted his glasses Frederick’s blood ran cold. He knew those eyes. He knew that face. Frederick snatched for the door lock as Rico Cardoso, Kulza family soldier raised a silenced pistol and fired. It felt like nothing, Frederick’s world went impossibly quiet. As he looked down at his own body he felt himself all over, but nothing had changed. He had seen the gun fire, he had felt the heat of the muzzle, but there was no bullet hole. Not in him, and not in the window. He took a breath to speak but no sound came out.
Rico calmly opened the passenger door and roughly pulled Frederick out. The made-man gestured to the suitcase on the floor beside the corpse and Frederick, still bewildered found himself able to retrieve it with no trouble whatsoever. The hitman placed his arm around his shoulder and steered him, forcefully past a crowd of police officers who looked right through both of them.
Frederick looked at his own hands and then down at the suitcase, which seemed to be glowing with a baleful blue light. Today had just gotten a lot more complicated, and Frederick hated complicated.